Monday, February 05, 2018

Want To Be A Better Husband?

My wife and I have a great relationship. I can't recall the last time we had a fight. I love travelling with her because I love being with her. It took me a while to learn that she's not the talk-all-the-time sort, so now when we walk the Catican Guards together and don't say much for about 40 minutes, I don't wonder if she's mad, I know she's enjoying being together like I am.

So why is this "Want to be a better husband?"

Yesterday, at Mass, I saw an elderly couple in the Communion line. They were absolutely ancient. She had some kind degenerative spinal problem and was so bent over that her face was directed towards the ground. She was short to begin with and now she was even shorter. He shuffled along, in decent shape for someone in his 90s. They walked, arm-in-arm.

I thought of their lives together, the road getting to February 4, 2018 in San Diego. How they were so infatuated when they were younger, how they used to make love, how they raised their children. I thought of the times when money was tight with them and when they took vacations. All of that was in the past and now all they had were each other. Watching them shuffle along, arm in arm, it felt like they had achieved what God asks of us - the two shall become as one.

It was so beautiful that I teared up. Writing this, I'm getting a bit of that now.

I wondered what I would feel when I was that age as I walked in the Communion line with my wife. I wondered if I would feel regret and wish I had the years back so I could be a more loving husband. I thought of things I could improve now.

The choices I make now will lead me to a future where I will be walking with her in sadness for not having seized opportunities to be more loving or one of happiness for having found that deep, soulful joy that God tries to give us. I'm sure the image of that elderly couple will fade with time, but for now, at least, it will help me be a better husband.